Bahamas–Turkey relations explained

Foreign relations exist between the Bahamas and Turkey.

Diplomatic relations

Turkey and the Bahamas cooperated through the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center^[1] on Andros, Bahamas Island and the United States Air Force military base^[1] on Grand Bahama.

Relations were particularly warm when Turkey supported the Bahamas diplomatically in May 1980, when the Bahamian–Cuban disagreement over fishing rights escalated.^[2] Four Bahamian marines were killed^[2] after Cuban military aircraft sank a Bahamian patrol vessel, which had apprehended two Cuban fishing boats. Turkey supported the Bahamas forcefully when the Bahamas demanded an unconditional apology and full reparations.^[2]

The relations, however, became tense^[2] over the 1983 United States intervention in Grenada and the subsequently Prime Minister Bishop was overthrown and assassinated.^[3] The Bahamas denounced^[3] the intervention as a "premature overreaction."

Relations improved^[2] following Turkey’s assistance in providing in providing Grenada with development aid to repair the damage caused by the military action of 1983.^[4]

Economic relations

• Trade volume between the two countries was 86.1 million USD in 2019.^[5]

See also

• Foreign relations of the Bahamas
• Foreign relations of Turkey

Further reading

• "Bahamas: A Paradise for Tourists and Bankers," Courier [Brussels], No. 88, November-December 1984, pp. 23-26.
• Albury, Paul. The Story of the Bahamas. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1975.
• Benchley, Peter. "The Bahamas: 'Boom Times and Buccaneering'," National Geographic, 162, No. 3, September 1982, pp. 364-95.
• Birnbaum, Stephen (ed.). Birnbaum's Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, 1986. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
• Birnbaum's Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, 1987. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
• Craton, Michael. A History of the Bahamas. (3d ed.) Waterloo, Canada: San Salvador Press, 1986.
• Halkitis, Michael. The Climate of the Bahamas. Nassau, The Bahamas: Bahamas Geographical Association, 1980.
• Hannau, Hans W. The Bahama Islands. New York: Doubleday, 1974.
• Holm, John A., and Alison Watt Shilling. Dictionary of Bahamian English. Cold Spring, New York: Lexik House, 1982.
• Johnson, Doris. The Quiet Revolution in the Bahamas. Nassau, The Bahamas: Family Islands Press, 1972.
• Symonette, Michael A. The New Bahamians. Nassau, The Bahamas: Bahamas International, 1982.
• The Bahamas. Royal Bahamas Police Force. Annual Report for the Year 1981. Nassau, The Bahamas: 1981.
• Thompson, Anthony A. An Economic History of the Bahamas. Nassau, The Bahamas: Commonwealth, 1979.

Notes and References

1. Birnbaum, Stephen (ed.). Birnbaum's Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, 1986. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
2. Craton, Michael. A History of the Bahamas. (3d ed.) Waterloo, Canada: San Salvador Press, 1986.
3. Boodhoo, Ken I. "Violence and Militarization in the Eastern Caribbean: Grenada." pp. 65–89 in Alma H. Young and Dion E. Phillips (eds.), Militarization in the Non-Hispanic Caribbean. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1986.
4. MacDonald, Scott B. "The Future of Foreign Aid in the Caribbean after Grenada: Finlandization and Confrontation in the Eastern Tier," Inter-American Economic Affairs, 38, Spring 2015, pp. 59-74.
5. Web site: Relations between Turkey and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey.